Kentucky begins recanvass of results in governor’s race

Kentucky has begun a recanvass in the state’s gubernatorial race after a Democratic challenger appeared to beat the incumbent GOP governor by more than 5,000 votes. 

Gov. Matt Bevin (R), an ally of President Trump, requested the recanvass after refusing to concede to Attorney General Andy Beshear (D). 

Lillie Ruschell, a spokeswoman for Kentucky’s secretary of state, told The Hill in an email that the results were being tabulated and were expected to be announced Thursday afternoon.

CNN reported that voting machine receipts are reprinted in a recanvass to check for errors. {mosads}

A Wednesday statement from Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes said all of the state’s county boards of elections would convene Thursday morning for the recanvass.

“My office has notified all county boards of elections, and we are reminding them of the laws and procedures to be followed,” Grimes said. 

Her office added that each candidate and both parties were allowed to have a representative at the recanvass locations and news outlets were also allowed to observe the process.

“The purpose of a recanvass is to verify the accuracy of the vote totals reported from the voting machines,” her office said. 

Bevin told Lexington, Ky.-based TV station WKYT that his effort is focused on election integrity. 

“Just as we are trying to make sure there is integrity in the voting process, we are also working to make sure there is integrity in the transition process from one governor to the next,” he said. 

The governor also told the news station his office is working with Beshear’s transition team. 

“Because there are very good odds he could be the next governor. Right now, he is numerically ahead and would seemingly be the next governor, and if that is corroborated and held up through this process, I will be his number one cheerleader,” Bevin said. “We want this state to move forward, so it is absolutely about the integrity of the process more than anything else.”

The State Board of Elections is set to meet Nov. 21 to certify the election results. Bevin would then have 30 days to contest the results with the legislature if he wanted to pursue further action.

Asked by WKYT if he was considering taking steps beyond the recanvass, the governor said, “I’m not at this point … Let’s take it one day at a time.”

–Updated at 11:13 a.m.